Peanut Butter Swiss Meringue Chocolate Cake is a chocolate butter cake with the most delicious peanut butter frosting that you've EVER tasted!
Best Cake Ever!
I think this might be the best cake I've ever made. And I'm not even kidding. First of all, the frosting is so good that I could happily just eat it straight out of the bowl. It's a luscious Swiss meringue buttercream with a delightful peanut butter flavor. It reminds me of mousse but a bit denser. Second of all, it's chocolate. Case closed!
The cake is 3 (six-inch round) layers of chocolate butter cake, filled and frosted with peanut butter Swiss meringue buttercream frosting. Then drizzled with chocolate ganache, topped with more frosting and Reeses peanut butter cups. Yum!
Also, the Swiss meringue buttercream frosting takes some time and patience to make, but it is SO worth it! To make the frosting, you'll need these 5 ingredients - egg whites, sugar, butter, vanilla and peanut butter.
How to Make Peanut Butter Swiss Meringue
1) Start by placing the egg whites and sugar in a large metal bowl. I used the bowl that came with my Kitchenaid mixer. Whisk the egg whites and sugar together.
2) Place over a pot of boiling water while beating the mixture like crazy. Do NOT stop beating. You don't want scrambled eggs. Continue beating until the sugar dissolves. About 2 minutes.
3) Remove from heat and beat with an electric mixer on medium high (using a whisk attachment) for 20 minutes.
4) Turn mixer down to low and gradually add butter. Turn mixer up to medium and beat for a few minutes. Turn mixer down and add vanilla. Mix again. Now add the peanut butter. Beat on medium for a few minutes.
5) If the mixture is soupy, place in refrigerator for a couple of hours. Then take out and beat again on medium high for a few mintues.
Frosting the Cake
1) Fill and frost your 3-layer cake with a crumb coat and refrigerate for an hour.
2) Frost chilled crumb coated cake with another layer of frosting and smooth it with a bench scraper while the cake is on a turn table. See my video (above) for more details on frosting.
3) Put the cake back in the fridge and let it chill for two hours. (Note: You will also need to put the remaining frosting back into the fridge as well. Then beat it again when you take it out after the two hours.)
4) Make your chocolate ganache and pour into a plastic squeeze bottle or a ziptop plastic bag with the corner cut. Drizzle chocolate on the edges then squeeze onto top of cake and smooth with a spatula.
Note: Scroll to see the bench scraper I used to make the frosting smooth and all the tools for success (affiliate):
Decorating the Cake
1) Pipe the top and sides using a pastry bag fitted with a 1M tip from Wilton.
2) Add Reeses peanut butter cups and chopped peanuts.
I made this cake for my friend Amy's birthday. She requested something with chocolate and peanut butter, so this is what I came up with. She LOVED it! Mission accomplished. Happy Birthday, Amy!
So what are you waiting for, hurry up and make this cake for your bestie's birthday! Or your mom or your dad or your child or your spouse. They will surely love it!
Happy Baking,
Lise
xoxo
Tools for success
6-Inch Round Cake Pans (Set of 4 - you'll have one extra)
8-Inch Round Gold Cake Boards (25)
Bench Scraper (To make the frosting smooth)
Duck Grip Drawer Liner (Pro-Tip: I cut a round piece to place on cakestand so the cake won't slip)
Note: The above items are affiliate links.
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Peanut Butter Swiss Meringue Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened 227g
- 2 cups granulated sugar 400g
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 ¼ cups cake flour 240g
- ¾ cup good quality cocoa powder 65g
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups coffee, cooled 354g
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the frosting
- 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar 495g
- 7 large egg whites 218g
- 3 ¾ sticks unsalted butter, softened 425g)
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 ½ tablespoons clear vanilla
For the ganache
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (125g)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
For decoration
- ½ cup Reeses peanut butter cups
- ¼ cup Chopped peanuts
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line 3 (6-inch round) cake pans with parchment paper. Grease again. (I used non-stick cooking spray). Set aside.
- Measure out dry ingredients (cake flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt) into a bowl and whisk together until combined. Set aside.
- Combine cooled coffee and vanilla in a large measuring cup. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy. Turn mixer to low and add the eggs, one at a time. Turn mixer back up to medium and beat for 30 seconds.
- Turn mixer down to low and alternate adding your dry ingredients and liquid ingredients. Once all of these ingredients are combined, turn mixer up to medium and beat for 2 minutes.
- Pour into prepared pans and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. Let cool completely. Remove cakes from pans. Level tops with a cake leveler or cut the domed part off with a large, serrated bread knife (cutting horizontally). You just want your cakes to be flat on top.
For the frosting
- Start by placing the egg whites and sugar in a large metal bowl. I used the bowl that came with my KitchenAid mixer. Whisk the egg whites and sugar together. Place over a pot of boiling water while beating the mixture like crazy. Do NOT stop beating. You don't want scrambled eggs. Continue beating for 1.5 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately beat with an electric mixer (using a whisk attachment) on medium for a few minutes so it can thicken slightly, then turn up to high for 20 minutes. (I like to cover the mixer with a dish towel to prevent splatters.) Turn mixer down to low and gradually add butter. Turn mixer up to medium and beat for a few minutes. Turn mixer down and add vanilla. Mix again. Now add the peanut butter. Beat on medium for a few minutes. If the mixture is soupy, place in refrigerator for a couple of hours. Then take out, let it rest for a bit (it will be hard at first) and beat again on medium high to high for a few mintues or until it's light and fluffy.
- Next, fill and frost your 3-layer cake with a crumb coat (thin layer of buttercream) and refrigerate for an hour before applying your "second coat" of frosting.
- Frost chilled cake with another layer of frosting and smooth it with a bench scraper while the cake is on a turn table. See my video (above) for more details on frosting. Put the cake back in the fridge and let it chill for two hours. (Note: You will also need to put the remaining frosting back into the fridge as well. Then beat it again when you take it out after the two hours.) Make your chocolate ganache by placing chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for one minute. Stir. Heat for 20 seconds more. Stir in olive oil until smooth. Pour into a plastic squeeze bottle or a ziptop plastic bag with the corner cut. Drizzle chocolate on the edges then squeeze onto top of cake and smooth with a spatula.
- Pipe the top and sides using a pastry bag fitted with a 1M tip from Wilton. Add Reeses peanut butter cups and chopped peanuts. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator until ready to serve. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Amy is the author of a funny memoir called The Amy Binegar-Kimmes-Lyle Book of Failures. A great Summer read. Check it out (affiliate):
You might also like this Chocolate Drizzled Semi-Naked Rose Cake
Or this classic Chocolate Birthday Cake
And this Chocolate Peanut Butter Dump Cake is super easy and a real crowd pleaser! Yummy!
All text and images © Lise Ode for Mom Loves Baking. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be accurate. This post may contain affiliate links.
Vanessa says
This buttercream, while delicious, was a total failure for me. I've successfully made SMBC but this did not work. I think the issue started with the peanut butter as another reviewer said. It was such a shame and impossible, despite many efforts, to fill and frost a cake with.
Lala says
I accidentally bought salted butter instead of unsalted…will it still be ok to use with this recipe if I skip the tsp of salt it calls for? I’m afraid to risk it..😬
Lise Ode says
Yes, you should be fine if you skip the added salt.
Beatriz says
How long in advance can i make the buttercream recipe? I have to make a cake on sunday but I’ll be staying somewhere I won’t have a stand mixer, so my plan was to make it on Thursday and transport it to the other location, do you think it’ll last and have the same quality? Also, when im transporting it, if it melts a little is it okay for me to just put it back in the fridge for it to harden?
Chris says
I made this today, although the buttercream tastes delicious I also found it really soupy and unable to pipe. 🙁 Even after chilling for 3 hours the cake layers kept sliding off of each other. Disaster to look at but tasted great!
Katie Ahlstrom says
Do you ever use cream of tartar in the meringue?
Lise Ode says
Not for this particular recipe.
Nicole Smith says
Okay if I was going to make two layer sheet cake would I double the recipe to fill two 9x13 pans?
Also would I then want to double or triple the icing recipe?
Lise Ode says
I think that you should have enough batter but be careful when doubling cake recipes. They don't always work. I haven't tested this one like that. You might want to make one batch of the cake and see how far it goes. Then make another batch. Hope that helps. As for the frosting. I think it would be the same method. I haven't tested "double" the buttercream recipe.
Nicole Smith says
How would you bake this as a sheet cake?
What size pan would you use for a sheet cake also?
Lise Ode says
Hi Nicole, I'm guessing that a 13" x 9" pan would work. Let me know how it goes.
Rusty Shackleford says
I know you often get comments about how delicious or good something looks. I wanted to share with you that I made the peanut butter swiss buttercream frosting. It. Is. Glorious. It's silky, satiny and it glistens it's so beautiful. The taste is through the stratosphere. Pretty unbelievable. It is not, by any measure, too soft. It has great body. I can't imagine it could be improved in any way. Thank you. By the way, I achieved the silky texture by switching to the paddle attachment set on low to remove the air bubbles created by the whisk attachment.
Lise Ode says
Hi Rusty, Oh my goodness! Thank you for your very kind comments and amazing description of the frosting. Are you a food writer? Love it!
Rusty Shackleford says
No, I'm not, but I do want to tell you, I just finished making the frosting a second time with the same spectacular results. The next time that you decide to make this, consider adding 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract along with the vanilla extract. It amps up the flavor of the peanut butter without betraying the fact that the almond extract is present. Have a great day and happy baking!
Sarah Bromell says
For those having a problem bringing the buttercream together: #1 Wipe down the bowl with vinegar to get rid of any traces of fat. #2 Be careful that no egg yolk gets into your whites, the meringue will fall flat. Now --Try whisking as directed in metal bowl of the Kitchen Aid mixer over simmering water until mixture is frothy and reaches 160F. Then immediately transfer to mixer with whisk attachment and beat for 15 to 20min. Take the butter out of the fridge and cut into 1T chunks just after the whisking begins to let it soften slightly. When its time to add the butter (mixture will be very warm to the touch) drop the tablespoon sized pieces in while mixer is going. The cool butter will bring the temp of the meringue down nicely. Add peanut butter slowly at the end. If mixture looks soupy, chill the bowl with a cold pack while you whisk. If butter does not fully mix in/buttercream looks chunky, warm up the bowl with a hot towel as you mix. Good luck!
Marlene says
I used box egg whites , my frosting is soupy . Not coming out right. Is it the box egg whites ?
Lise Ode says
This recipe works best with egg whites that you separate from the yolk, not the box.
Marlene says
My Organic creamy peanut butter messed it up !
Traci Regan says
Ugh!!! I am so completely frustrated!! This is the third time that I have tried this peanut butter buttercream recipe. And each time all I end up with is a soupy flap!! I’ve tried chilling it, whipping it longer and have researched every possible thing I could be doing wrong and still cannot get anything close to a pipable consistency! Everything is perfect up until the point of adding the peanut butter. What is going on?!? Why won’t this work?!?
(It tastes fantastic, btw).
Mom Loves Baking says
Traci: Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry you're having trouble. I know how frustrating that can be! If you're willing to try it again (I know you're probably sick of trying it now). But if you want, you could make the swiss meringue without the peanut butter to see how great it turns out. Then maybe try adding peanut butter powder to half of it as an experiment. I have a baking friend that uses PB Fit peanut powder in her swiss meringue buttercream and it turns out great.
Lise Ode says
Hi Kelly, Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Sheila Kelly says
How much peanut butter does this recipe call for?
Mom Loves Baking says
Oh my goodness, thank you so much for asking this question. I forgot to add the peanut butter amount on the recipe. Sorry! It's 1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter for the frosting recipe.
Karin says
Hello your cake looks great! Could you tell me how much peanut butter is used in the frosting, it doesn't say in the recipe.
Lisa says
Thank you for letting me have the honor of this cake for my birthday ...
Everybody agreed it was the best cake they ever had!